Over 118 million individuals engage with microdramas monthly, as this serialized format gains traction in India. EloElo’s Story TV has emerged as a leading app in this domain, boasting more than 33 million active users, according to hinews. Leveraging its extensive user base, the company has successfully secured $80 million in Series C funding from Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal. This funding round elevates its total capital raised to $130 million, with a valuation reaching $500 million.
As audiences increasingly dedicate time to platforms featuring vertical video content, serialized storytelling has gained popularity across various regions, including the U.S., China, and India. Notable Hollywood figures such as Issa Rae, James Franco, and Kim Kardashian have invested in and participated in this format. With India’s vast internet user base exceeding a billion and a strong demand for entertainment, the market presents significant opportunities, with analysts projecting the industry to surpass $3-$4 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Last year, dedicated applications like Story TV, Kuku TV, and Quick TV ranked among the most downloaded video streaming services in the nation.
Founded in 2020 by former Flipkart executive Saurabh Pandey, the Story TV platform has experienced remarkable growth, offering a catalog of over 5,000 titles in six languages. Pandey stated to hinews that the snackable content format encourages users to spend an average of 95 minutes on the app daily, spread across multiple sessions. “I fundamentally believe that the next billion users will probably not grow up on a diet of watching television; they will grow up on a diet of watching content on their phones, right? And this content has to be, and this entertainment, designed very differently. It’s not going to be appointment viewing. It’s going to be within certain slots throughout the day. And a lot of this was earlier solved for short clips, but serialized storytelling was never solved,” Pandey remarked regarding the microdrama format.
He maintains that while there will still be a place for communal big-screen viewing, the majority of entertainment consumption will shift to mobile devices. All microdrama platforms face competition from giants like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, where creators share content at no cost. Some of these platforms are also developing avenues for creators to share serialized content. Pandey believes that delivering high-quality content on Story TV will encourage users to prefer it over other free alternatives.
The company highlights its collaborations, such as the partnership with Indian television production company Balaji Telefilms, to create engaging content. It offers various subscription options, including monthly, quarterly, and annual plans, to access premium content. Additionally, some free content is available, supported by advertisements, although this revenue model may not be as profitable as subscriptions, according to reports. Monetization remains a challenge in India, as many users prefer free content, with few transitioning to paid subscriptions. A report from analyst firm Redseer indicates that over 40 million individuals have paid for microdramas at least once, yet only 15-17 million users maintain a monthly subscription. A separate survey by Ormax Media revealed that 72% of respondents have never paid for microdrama content.
All microdrama platforms are striving to ensure a sufficient supply of content to engage diverse audiences and are looking to incorporate AI to achieve this goal. Some platforms, such as Google-backed Kuku, aim to enhance workflows and increase content production, while others, like Dashverse’s Shortfree, seek to utilize video AI models for creating serialized clips. Currently, Story TV aligns with the former approach, utilizing its Dolphin AI platform, which began as an internal tool to streamline video creation. The company now plans to make this tool accessible to a broader audience, functioning as an editor equipped with templates and various models for generating images, audio, and video, as outlined on its website. EloElo envisions this tool being used for marketing campaigns and advertisements as well.
While Indian platforms like Pocket and Kuku have developed AI tools for creators, it is anticipated that this will expedite their content production. However, at InVideo, there has not been a significant effort to provide a competitive alternative to CapCut or Instagram Edits for Indian creators. Pandey asserts that human involvement remains crucial in crafting compelling narratives, with AI tools serving as creative directors. “My belief in involving AI is that AI is a really fast race car where AI is the engine, but you need an extremely capable Formula One driver to be on the steering wheel. That, for me, is the creative director or the showrunner. AI is supposed to work with them, augmenting their skill set. AI can help write stories, but so far the best stories I have loved have all had a very high human x AI element to it,” he explained.
In addition to microdrama, the company has developed a vertical video learning app, Master, which competes with platforms like Seekho and Kuku’s Guru, as well as an AI companion app, Voxy AI. The company reports over 40 million monthly users across its applications. While it has not specified user distribution by app, the majority are associated with Story TV. EloElo currently employs 240 individuals and plans to expand its AI and machine learning research team. The company is also allocating a significant portion of its capital to produce more original titles. MIT Investment Co., along with existing investors such as Play Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Waterbridge Ventures, and Griffin Gaming Partners, participated in this funding round.
